1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for making a reinforcement device, more specifically, to a method for making a reinforcement device for a concrete structural member, such as a beam-column joint. This invention also relates to a method for strengthening the concrete structural member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the confinement effect of a reinforced concrete beam-column joint is achieved by embracing a plurality of spaced apart stirrups around column and beam reinforcement rebars, and embedding the column and beam reinforcement rebars and the stirrups in concrete.
According to an analysis for the beam-column joint, the concrete is liable to crack when the beam-column joint suffers from an external stress, such as earthquakes. The concrete is thus stripped from the beam-column joint, and the stirrups and the column and beam reinforcement rebars are exposed. As the cracked beam-column joint continues to suffer from the earthquakes, the beam-column joint will break down due to insufficient confining strength of the segments of the exposed column and beam reinforcement rebars between two adjacent stirrups. Therefore, it is desirable in the art to strengthen the confinement effect for the column and beam reinforcement rebars to prevent the beam-column joint from failure.
Conventionally, the confinement effect is improved by increasing the number of the stirrups, thus increasing the density of the stirrups for the beam-column joint. However, the higher density of the stirrups causes an increased difficulty in constructing the beam-column joint, which leads to an increase of the time and the cost for constructing the beam-column joint. Furthermore, the applicants are unaware of a fast and easy method to repair and strengthen the damaged beam-column joint currently available in the industry.